Alison Lavine-ova

I figure now that I started tennis lessons I should have a more pro-tennis name. Sarka and I have started our once a week tennis lessons here in Prague. Here in the Czech Republic they play on clay courts. Our tennis instructor is great and patient since he showed me how to hold a tennis racket and worked on my forehand, backhand, and serving. He emphasized to have a top spin on the ball but I basically was lucky to get the ball over the net. I can say it was weird getting used to the changes but I can see progress and very excited for the lessons to come. That night, Sarka and I were still in our tennis phase and decided to watch tennis online. We watched the Davis Cup in Serbia where they were playing the Czech republic team. It was shocking to watch since the crowd acted like soccer fans. They had the horns, screaming, war paint, but then when they were serving not a peep. Odd.

Sarka and I went grocery shopping again where she had me get traditional Czech foods. I bought a poppy seed filled bread, poppy seed filled pastry, lots of different cheeses, and syrup. They like to put sweet fruit syrup in their water. I find it interesting how Americans like to "over do" things. For instance, American food is 10 times saltier and is 100 times more sugary. Prague has sweets but I feel they do not use half the sugar Americans do. They have a lot of American foods and restaurants here in Prague. For instance, a TGIFridays, Burger King, KFC (which is HUGE here), McDonalds, and now recently a Hooters. Brands they sell here are Skippy Peanut Butter, Cheerios, Activia, Snickers, Lays, Pepsi, Cheddar cheese. It is so tempting to buy but wow! the prices are ridiculous. A small tube of Skippy peanut butter is 100 kc's, and a small block of cheddar cheese can be up to 120kc! And you know how expensive the restaurants must be! I have to remember tho, these items are imported and a "rare" item here in the Czech Republic. I see it as a friendly reminder that I am in Prague and should get local czech brands to try new things.

This past weekend I tried Buchaw! It is the sweet young wine they have one month out of a year and it's very popular here. They have many wine festivals going on right now in Prague. It tastes like sparkling grape juice and does not smell good nor look good since it is cloudy. Then we headed to a bar in the center called Aloha. It is a great bar to get a dose of back home. It is hawaiian themed and has palm trees, surfers, exotic drinks, and music. I got a mai tai which was in a cool glass with a passion fruit, pineapple, star fruit, and strawberry laying on top!

Quick comment about my second grade class. Adorable comment #1: I asked the students if they have any allergies (in case I bring food or etc) and one student said the usual, "grass, peanuts...." and one girl said, "I'm allergic to the sun" then the whole class goes, "Ya! me too I'm allergic to the sun!".... Let's just say I think I know what the weather will be like in the winter. It has already started to get chilly and I have been looking for some warm clothes. The clothes here are very different and sophisticated but in my opinion not warm enough. I am looking for some eskimo jackets and fur hats! I'll let you know when I find one.

This weekend I am off to Venice for 3 days! I am sooo excited for my first trip and will take lots of pictures! Thanks for reading my blog and know that I am enjoying my adventure here in Prague. Ahoj!

Weekend in Prague

So now I remember why everyone appreciates weekends after a long week of work! I love having a full time teaching job and now starting to get my routine. I am starting to get to know my students and get the swing of things at the school. My students are SO adorable and really well behaved. I eat the school lunch everyday and one day this week we had DOUGHNUTS as the meal. Katka my coworker told me that it's traditional to have "sweet lunches". Also traditional is to start your meal with a soup. The soup is like a chicken broth with veggies and noodles. I like having soup to start off your meal. The doughnut was a deep fried dough and with a plum jam on top of it. However, the plum jam was not sweet and a little bitter. It is topped off with clotted cream or something similar and sprinkled with powder sugar. Kids in the US would go nuts to have doughnuts for lunch and be bouncing off the walls with sugar rushes! It's the norm here so no big deal to the students.

After work on Friday, I purchased a train ticket to Venice, Italy! I am leaving September 24 and taking the overnight train and will arrive in the morning on the 25th. I will be there til the 27th and be back in Prague on the 28th. The 28th is a national holiday so we have a four day weekend! So I look forward to that and if you have any suggestions let me know!

This week I got to know my other roommate, Sarka pronounced Sharka. Sarka is from the Czech Republic and grew up in a small town outside Prague. She works as an Admin for Vodaphone and has lived in Prague for a couple years. I love having her as a roommate because she fills me in on what everything is and extremely helpful on how things are done. I told her about my milk story and she said I didnt buy milk and it's a sour/yogurty milk that is actually really good for you! oops (shouldnt had poured it down the drain I guess). She enjoys beer so she would tell me all about Czech beer and her favorites that I have to try. She also loves Burchak! Burchak is a wine that is a "young wine" meaning it is still fermenting. It is only once a month and it's now season to have Burchak. It comes in red and white and is sweet and bubbly and dangerous. People carry it around town in 2 liter plastic bottles. You are supposed to unscrew the cap every so often otherwise it EXPLODES! We went to a wine festival yesterday in Troja but to our disappointment they sold out of Burchak and I saw people were going nuts for this stuff. I still have yet to try it. Sharka has taken me to some of her favorite pubs and we enjoy a nice beer together and she'll explain Czech food. The table next to us was eating ...get this...raw ground beef with a raw egg on top with onions. Who in the world thought, "hey that sounds good I think I'll make that". Wow just blows my mind to eat 100% raw meat! I stayed with something safer and I tried Pickled Cheese. It was a bre cheese that has been pickled and is spicy. I enjoyed it but you had to have a beer with it to ease the spice. Also, get this, McDonalds here is expensive! It is so opposite from home. At home, McDonalds is incredibly cheap and vegetables are expensive. Here is it's the complete opposite. Sharka said it is an expensive luxury to eat at McDonalds. My meal cost 100 crowns which is as much as a sit down restaurant. You can forget about the dollar menu. I rarely eat out and cook a lot at home which is good for my wallet and my health.

Another great thing about my new roommate, is Sarka loves to play tennis. She just picked up the sport this summer and joined an outdoor tennis club where she plays at beginner level. She invited me to join her on Saturday and I rented a racket and tennis balls and got to hit a few with her. Then she had a match so I just practiced on the wall and worked on my serving. Sharka is pretty good and we are talking about taking tennis lessons once a week (indoors of course) together. Watch out Wimbeldon, here I come! I mentioned to Sharka one of the Williams sisters quote, "every time I come to Wimbeldon there is always another -ova I have to compete with". She informed me that in the Czech Republic the girls last name always ends with an -ova. Sharka told me that her last name does not end with an -ova so when she gets called by a stranger they always say Mr. ----.

Sharka and I had a discussion on living in the Czech Republic when it was Communist country. She told me she doesn't remember much because it ended when she was 7 years old. But she told me that they had a motto when communism was here, "If you don't steal, you will steal from your family". People would be forced to work in factories. They had no stores where you can buy what you wanted or needed. Instead, it would be one store where you were LUCKY to get something you HAD to have. Jeans were extremely hard to get ahold of so you would have to bribe the cashier to get you a pair or be very aggressive and grab the few they had. Sharka said that people learned to become selfish because you had to become selfish to survive. You shoved people out of the way to grab that banana. She said that there are still signs left from communism where people do not hold doors open, they are VERY impatient, and they are very shy. It was fascinating to learn about what it's like to live under communism and learning more about the Czech people.

I went out last night with Martina, who is from San Diego, and went to a bar called Prague Beer Museum where they had at least 30 beers on tap. I met some other teachers who were teaching abroad and had a nice time. The weather this weekend is perfect in the 70's and sunny! I hear fall here in Prague is beautiful and it will be my first time seeing seasons change.

It's Sunday which is grocery shopping day. Sharka invited me to play doubles but I told her I have a long way to go before I can start playing games. Another great week here in Prague and so much more to come.

Fashion Week in Prague

Oh so this is culture shock...

I'm all settled in my apartment, the students have returned back to school, the season is changing, and now it's time for me to adapt here in Prague. First, I'll start with my living situation. I am so lucky to have such a great roommate Mylene. We are like a little married couple (mom I'm not gay) that enjoys cooking dinner together, sitting and eating together, discussing each others day, and then have a nice glass of wine to unwind. I told Mylene when I moved in that I can cook and am a good cook; however, she puts me to SHAME with her cooking. Mylene cooks everything from scratch! Muffins, pasta sauce, pizza dough, pizza sauce, cookies, breads! I need to learn as much as I can from her since I realized here in Prague they do not have meals made easy here unlike back in the states. Meaning, pasta sauces are few and hard to find, especially white sauces like alfredo. And all the "just add water" meals we have back in the states, you can forget about seeing those here. They do have frozen dinners but that's only if you like goulash and some other questionable dinners. Grocery shopping takes me a good hour or two because everything is in Czech. I go down every aisle and look at each row of items and it's like a game. I have to guess what it might be and hope there are clues. Pictures are always great but also looking and examining the items. For instance, my greatest challenge here has been milk. It is confusing that milk sometimes is not refrigerated in the grocery store. I made the mistake once of purchasing a non chilled milk and the next morning when I poured it in my knock off honey nut cheerios lumps fell out! And the expiration date was not until September 18! I then saw refrigerated milk at my favorite grocery store Tesko. Alberts is the other grocery store that is close to my apartment and has an ok selection of groceries. Tesko had a bunch of different brands in clear plastic bottles. I basically tilt the bottle to see if how thick the milk is and I buy the most clear milk. I'm sure this milk story is not entertaining at all so let me continue on to somethings that are more exciting. Mylene and I one Saturday took a journey to Ikea. The place was packed and it's just like the Ikea's back home. Although I notice on the refrigerators, they do not have ice cube machines like in the states. Instead, they have expresso machines which was awesome! Rarely, if ever, do you get ice in your drink. I guess the winters here get very cold so I can understand why an expresso machine is more urgent than an ice machine. When we left Ikea, I realized then how much I missed my car! I had to lug three bags and a backpack full and two plastic chairs on a bus, on a tram, and on the metro and then have to walk to the apartment. At least I got my workout in for the WEEK! Back to living situation again. I have a new roommate that is Czech. Her name is Sharka and she is around my age and works at Vodaphone. She moved in last night and she brought over homemade czech pickles and honey from her grandmothers. Next weekend, we are going to go to a vineyard because one month every year they have a festival and sell a wine (which I forgot the name of but will blog about it next time) that is still fermenting. I will let you know how it goes! I have met the people in my building and all are so extremely friendly by greeting me with, "Dobrey Den" (good day) and smiles. I love living in Vinohrady because I am a quick 15 minute walk to the Center and Old Town. My neighborhood looks like Manhattan with tiled sidewalks, cobble stoned streets, trees on the sidewalks, and buildings that are run down but have tremendous amount of character. Vinohrady used to be the happening place here in Prague and when I took a stroll one day I couldnt believe "I live here".

I would describe the people here in Czech Republic as New Yorkers but way more hard. You have to remember tho, communism ended here only a couple decades ago and before that there were the Nazis. Life has not been easy for the Czech people but even under oppression, the culture of the Czech people has survived and is proud and strong. I found that if you stop and ask a question or need help finding a location, they are very patient and friendly even when they do not speak English. It also took me awhile to get used to not smiling when you make random eye contact with someone. They just respond with an angry look so you just stare and well look away. And in case you were wondering, yes, the Czech do love their beer. I have to admit it is very tasty and delicious. My favorite brand here in Prague is Gambrinus. I live a few blocks away from a beer garden in the middle of a park and is where I had my first meeting with my coworkers. I feel very safe in Prague, however you do have to be careful about pick pockets. Many can speak English but mostly I survive on reading expressions to understand what is going on or what they are telling me in Czech. I have had a couple tourists come up to me and ask if I could help them with directions and if I was Czech.

The students at Magic Hill are absolutely adorable. Just like students back in California, I find they love to compliment me. From my glittery eyeshadow to my shoes, the girls love commenting about my fashion. (It can spoil a girl like me) But now I have to be careful what I wear since I work with fashion critics. The students thinks it's incredible and unbelievable that I live in a place where the winters are not cold and snowy. When the parents found out I was from California they asked me if I knew how cold it can get in Prague. Don't worry, I plan on getting fur hats, (fake fur of course) and insanely heavy jackets that eskimos wear and perhaps invest in a UV lamp in my room. The weather is already chilly here in Prague and it started to get cold end of August. I hear this is not normal for it to be this cold all ready. The weather is like a winter day in San Diego right now. Cloudy, cold, raining...I think the weather will be my biggest shock.

I love communicating with my students and found that most students can speak English very well. It's adorable when they have trouble explaining something in English, they act it out. And I have to say their acting and facial expressions along with sound effects are very impressive. I feel like they are in acting school as well and will be talented actors and actresses. We are fed lunch everyday at the school and we always start with a soup and then a pasta dish which is not too bad. We eat with the students and teachers to show unity. Another way we show unity is our indoor shoes. I am so excited because ALL the students wear CROCS! I am totally getting a pair and I will proudly rock the crocs!

This past weekend, I went on a jog around Vinohrady and also down to Vltava River. Ok, you got me, a brisk walk since jogging only lasted a couple blocks. I cant explain the feeling I got from everything I was seeing. Every corner you turned, every building you saw is fascinating. If just one of those buildings were in San Diego it would be a tourist destination. It is like nothing I have seen from the colors, to the statues carved into buildings, to the historic churches that have been blackened with age. I walked past the "dancing building" that was designed by an American architecture. Then walked over a bridge and starred at the castle. Google was right, Prague is definitely top ten most beautiful cities in Europe. On Saturday, I took another stroll but this time to the Center and Old Town Square. In Old Town Square, they had artwork displayed in flowers where you climb a tiny bridge to see. After looking at the display, I turned the corner and found a fashion runway in the middle of the "fancy" designer street. It was Fashion Weekend in Prague and I made it just in time to see a fashion show. If you have heard of the website FML I totally saw an FML moment. So a runway model was modeling jewelry. The model had a black cloth wrapped around her body and it was held together in the back with safety pins. Well, unfortunately, one of the pins came undone. Can you guess which one? Yes, the one right in front of her bum! She mooned everyone and well just FML moment. So I decided to walk down the runway and noticed that they had a few seats next to the runway that were 4 rows. I really just wandered through the barricades and sat front row next the runway. I loved it! Not only did I feel like P Diddy and celebrity status but it was my very first fashion show and it was amazing! I would love to be a model but I love food too much. It was so neat and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Prague always has great things going on. I hear they have a wild nightlife (more intense than Vegas) but I'm just taking it one step at a time and need to make some friends. I met with a girl Sunday morning and here is a coincidence. My friend met her at dog park in San Diego where she is from. She moved to Prague 4 years ago and is teaching English at the Prague British School! Talk about a small world. It was great hearing her advice with teaching and living abroad. I can't wait to hang out and nice to have a fellow San Diegan here in Prague. Also my roommate Sharka is very social so hopefully I will meet more people and make friends.

So that's the latest and greatest and I'll blog next week or so about future events and adventures I have had! Thanks for reading and you keep classy San Diego.

Pictures

I am 16 going on 17...

School

My First Apartment :)

Upstairs (my room) and the building with my view from my window.

My First Apartment!

Downstairs